William Henry Perkin is a local chemical hero of mine. The factory where he founded the British (nay, the World) fine organic chemicals industry is in Greenford, just up the road from where we live. The factory used to be close to the Black Horse pub (see below) on the banks of the grand union canal. It is now commemorated merely by a blue plaque placed on the wall of the modern joinery building occupying the location (circled in red on the photo).
But when BBC TV contacted me to ask where his grave was, a little detective work was needed to track it down to the cemetery in Christchurch, Roxeth (near Harrow-on-the-Hill).
And if you ever need to track me down, my office window is the one with the translucent image of a mauveine molecular orbital.
